While internal combustion engine vehicles run by the rotational power of an internal combustion engine caused by the explosion occurring during the combustion of fossil fuels with oxygen from the air, fuel cell vehicles run by rotational power of an electric motor that is driven using electrical energy generated by a fuel cell stack. The fuel cell stack, which is a power source of the fuel cell vehicle, generates electrical energy through an electrochemical reaction of hydrogen supplied by a high-pressure hydrogen tank in the vehicle with oxygen from the air supplied by an air supply device.
In a fuel cell vehicle, it is important to safely store hydrogen fuel in a compact tank. To this end, various hydrogen storage techniques that meet the requirements of increased mileage and safety have been developed. For instance, a lightweight, high-strength hydrogen tank that can withstand high-pressure is generally used by filling the interior of the hydrogen tank with hydrogen. In order to secure spaces for all passengers and enough mileage, the interior of the tank may be filled with hydrogen under high-pressure.
In general, the specification of a hydrogen tank for fuel cell vehicles is 350 bar or 700 bar. A reinforcing material such as carbon fiber may be wound on the exterior of a tank main body made of metal such as an aluminum alloy, or plastic in order to ensure sufficient internal pressure resistance.
Meanwhile, the fuel cell vehicle may be filled with hydrogen from a hydrogen dispenser. For safe and quick refueling, the fuel cell vehicle may measure the pressure and temperature of the hydrogen tank and transmit the measured results to the hydrogen dispenser. Therefore, if there is a communication error between the fuel cell vehicle and the hydrogen dispenser, it becomes difficult to normally fuel the vehicle with hydrogen.
In a conventional hydrogen filling method for a fuel cell vehicle, when there is a communication error between a fuel cell vehicle and a hydrogen dispenser, the fuel cell vehicle is filled with an amount of hydrogen less than the maximum filling amount for sufficient time (e.g., at least 10 minutes) in consideration of a possible risk of explosion that may occur while fueling. Consequently, it is difficult to fuel the vehicle with the maximum amount of hydrogen quickly and safely.
For example, even when the capacity of the hydrogen tank provided in the fuel cell vehicle is 700 bar, the fuel cell vehicle sets a target filling amount to 600 bar due to the risk of explosion and is filled with hydrogen slowly. Therefore, it is difficult to fuel the vehicle with the maximum amount of hydrogen and difficult to maintain the maximum mileage.